Hi bleaders! I haven’t been blogging lately due to my focus on a new job. It began as a secondment position in mid-January and after about a month I was asked if I wanted to stay on permanently. It was so lovely to have been asked, and, even better, I wanted to say yes! The new role got confirmed this week and I can’t stop smiling. God promised about 2 years ago that he wouldn’t leave me in my previous job (which I had been in for years and was finding increasingly stressful), and he’s come through in a big way. I am really enjoying the new work and am in a lovely and supportive team. Just perfect!

Share some poetry:

Like this:

Happy New Year! Here’s to more surprises, more play, more fabulous food, more kindness, more hugs, more family fun, more love, more friendly banter, more faith, more opportunities, more laughter and more poems this year than ever before!

Like this:

I had heard “In a Sentimental Mood” in a movie a few years ago and finally got around to looking it up and making a purchase. The Coltrane album I have has the version recorded with Duke Ellington (apparently the best-known version) and made for perfect background music as I laid on the couch and thumbed through a glossy foodie mag. Sigh… There is nothing better than doing that kind of thing on a weekend afternoon, especially when the weather is dreary. Pure bliss!

Share some poetry:

Like this:

After my last post a bleader asked me the question “Have you tried your hand at the cinquain?”.
The cinq-what?

Thanks to trusty wikipedia I learnt all about this type of poetry via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinquain. Basically, the style is the creation of a Ms Adelaide Crapsey using 5 lines with accents of 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllables. (And I think coming up with a haiku can be tricky!!) It seems there are lots of variations too with names like “crown”, “garland” and “butterfly” – trust writers to give them such labels.

So, always up for a literary challenge, here is today’s offering in the form of a cinquain instead of a haiku. Are you up for trying your hand at something different too? Go on, stretch yourself!(And if you’re interested, that bleader’s blog is: http://literaryarms.wordpress.com/.)

Share some poetry:

Like this:

…since I last blogged. Life has been busy but blessed, fun but tiring, challenging but hopeful and…well, you know how it goes! So, I’m starting off with a small post to get myself back into the swing of things. Chat soon…

Share some poetry:

Like this:

I think there is nothing more bliss-full than reading a beautiful new cookbook.

The pages are crisp and, if you’re lucky, even still slightly stuck together from the printing process. The images are wondrous and drool-inducing as the styling is set to making you desire the featured morsel – plus the spoon alongside! And the recipes themselves…well, it makes my heart race to think I now hold the secret to creating all of the enticing gourmet delights.

Such was my experience today with my new Ladureé cookbook, Sucré.

(My obsession with Ladureé, and especially their macarons, began on my second visit to Paris in 2004 (how did I miss them the first time?) when I was taken to one of their salons by a friend. Their famous treats lived up to expectations – oh my, it was love at first bite! I visited two of their salons again in 2011 and I was not disappointed. If only I could spend more daysin Paris so I could tear myself away from the macarons enough to try some of the other sweet treats…next time! All things Ladureé can be found via their gorgeous website at http://www.laduree.fr/. )

So back to the book itself. Firstly, it came in a box. Sigh…yes, a box of pale green, Ladureé’s signature colour. On opening the box there was purple tissue paper, also a signature colour, which opened to reveal a pale green book with a gold label. I reached for the book and removed it from the box and touching the pale green velvet cover and the gold edging on the pages was enough to make me weep. Oooh, and then the treasures inside…
(I told you I loved new cookbooks!)

So, my love for macarons continues to this day and I even made a selection of them for one of my birthday parties a couple of years ago. I know others out there love macarons so take a look at Jill Colonna’s blog, “Mad About Macarons”. I enjoy reading about her experiments with different flavour combinations. And for the styling side of things, Katie Quinn Davies’ photographs via her “What Katie Ate” blog are amazing – I can’t wait for her cookbook either!

Now, enough waxing lyrical, time to get back to the couch and my new acquisition!